Beehive.



No. 807,215. PATBNTED DEG. 1z,19o5..

J. P. STILLS.

BBEHIVE.

APPLICATION nun MAR. 10. 1905.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

, INIIHIIIW INVENTOH efames 17%?[8 ATTUBNEVS UNITED STATES JAMES F. STILLS, OF SCHOOL, ILLINOIS.

BEEHIVE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905 Application filed March 10, 1905. Serial No. 249,386.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known. that I, JAMEs F. STILLS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of School, in the county of White and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Beehives, of which the follow' ing is a specification My invention relates to improvements in beehives, its object being to produce a mothdeceiver attachment which acts for such purpose and also serves as a rest or support for the frames, and also to produce a separatorboard. whereby the size of the colony may be accommodated and regulated, and also to produce a beehive the general make-up of which will'facilitate the handling of bees.

To these ends my invention consists of certain novel features of construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described. and pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the drawings, in Which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hive with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a top plan view ofthe lower chamber. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view showing one of the supporting-plates upon which are hung the frames. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the moth-deceivers and frame-rests. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the complete hive, showing the division-plate. spective view of the division-plate removed from the hive. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the honey-frames, showing the spacing and separating pins. Fig. 8 is a similar view of several of the brood-frames, showing spacing and separating pins.

The hive is made in two sections, A being the upper section and A the lower section. The upper section fits on the lower section, sliding thereon and being held in place by cleats a. The cover of the upper section also slides thereon and is held in place by the side strips a. The lower section rests on the floor A and is secured thereto, the complete hive being supported above the ground on legs a tions A and A are gained out at their upper ends, and secured to the upper ends of said side walls are the metal strips A and A projecting above said gained-out portions. These plates do not extend up as high as the outer edges of the side walls, but are of such height as to permit the top bars of the frames to rest thereon and still be slightly below the top edge of the side walls, so that said frames Fig. 6 is a per- The side walls of each of the sec-v will not be clamped tightly by the upper section and by the cover of the upper section.

B represents what I shall term mothdeceivers and fframe-rests, which consist of a metal box open at its bottom and front end and having a block B inserted in its rear end and closing the same. The moth-deceiver is provided with numerous small openings b in its top and sides, as shown in Fig. 4. These moth-deceivers are inserted from the front through openings made in the bee-entrance bar A which has the bee-entrance (L The floor A projects out in front of the lower section, and its upper surface outside of the hive slopes downwardly, forming an incline up which the bees travel to enter the hive. The moth-deceivers rest upon this floor and extend to the rear wall of the hive. Said deceivers are held in place by the strips F and the openings at each side of the bee-entrance in the bee-entrance bar.

O is a division plate or board having its side and bottom edges beveled, as shown in Fig. 6, and the overhanging strip 0 on its top edge. The lower end of the divisionboard has the cut-out portions 0 c at its lower corners, so that it may fit over and rest upon the moth-deceivers. The overhanging ends of the top strip 0 rest upon the metal plates A at the upper inner ends of the side walls of the lower section. When the division-board is not in use, it is slid down between the guide-pins D, projecting inwardly from the side walls of the lower section at its rear, so that the said division-board is held against the rear wall of the said lower section.

The frames in both chambers rest upon the metalstrips at their upper ends, said frames being of the usual construction, and the frames of the lower section at their lower ends rest upon the moth-deceivers when the said frames are loaded, while when they are not loaded .down they will hang slightly above said moth-deceivers. The divisionboard may be placed at any point in the lower section, thus dividing the said section into two chambers, so that the size of the colony can be accommodatedor regulated.

The holes or openings before mentioned in the deceiver are to be very small and are for the purpose of allowing the moth miller or millers when once in the deceivers to observe the movements of the bees and also smell the honey. While in the deceiver the moth-miller will deposit its eggs without delay.

The question will naturally arise, why will the moth-miller go into the moth-deceiver and not in at the main bee-entrance. It is because the moth-miller fears being attacked by the bees, and as the miller almost invariably makes its way to the side or bottom of the hive it crawls up at the corner of the hive, and as the deceiver is placed at these points it will naturally enter the deceiver to get away from the bees.

The deceiver, which also forms a rest for the honey-frames, may be drawn out of the lower section at any time for inspection and cleaning, and to permit this being done without disturbing the frames said frames are provided with set-nails E, each frame in the lower or brood chamber having two driven into each upright in such a manner that the nails in each frame have a bearing against the upright of the next adjacent frame, so that one frame cannot be pushed forward or backward within the chamber without all frames being similarly moved. The frames in the upper or honey chamber are also provided with set-nails E for separating them. In these frames the set-nails are driven into the upper cross-piece. The division-board C is placed at the rear of the hive unless otherwise needed and, as stated, is held in place by the guidepins D. The entrance-bar may be removed and replaced at will.

The moth-deceivers have, as stated before, the blocks B closing their rear ends to prevent the escape of the moth-miller into the hive. The end blocks also serve to draw out all deposits that may have been left on the floor of the hive when the said deceivers are withdrawn from the front of the hive.

The frames in the lower or brood chamber at their lower ends almost touch the mothdeceiver, so that when they become loaded they will gradually settle on the moth-deceiver. The moth-deceiver also permits the bees when they come in heavily loaded to crawl up and approach any frame they wish to work on.

F F are strips secured to the floor of the hive, having their front ends beveled, as shown in Fig. 2. These strips serve as guides in inserting the moth-deceivers and also to retain the rear ends of said deceivers when they are in the hive against side movement.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. In a beehive a moth-deceiver attachment, consisting of boxes having open front and bottoms, and the rear ends thereof closed, said boxes resting on the floor of the broodchamber at each side of the bee-entrance.

2. In a beehive, open front and bottom boxes resting on the floor of the hive, said boxes constituting a moth-deceiver and also a rest for the bottoms of the brood-frames.

3. In a beehive a division-board having outwardly rojecting upper ends resting on the side wa ls of the hive, guides rojecting from the side walls of the hive at t e rear to retain the division-board against the rear wall of the hive when not in use.

4. A beehive consisting of a chamber having a floor and a front bee-entrance bar, said bee-entrance bar provided with notches or openings on each side of the main bee-entrance, open front and bottom boxes inserted in said notches and resting on the floor of the chamber, said boxes having erforations in their top and side walls and a apted to serve as moth-deceivers and also as a bottom-rest for the brood-frames of the hive.

5. In a beehive a bee-entrance bar havin a central slot or opening in its lower edge and notches on each side of said central 0 ening, said notches adapted to receiveand old in position moth-deceivers.

6. A beehive consisting of side and front walls and a floor, a removable bee-entrance bar resting on said floor, said bee-entrance bar having a central opening in its lower. edge at its center, and provided with notches at each side of the central opening, and elongated open bottom boxes inserted in said notches and resting on the floor of the hive, said boxes adapted to serve as moth-deceivers and also. as rests for the honey-frames.

7. In a beehive elongated boxes open at their front ends closed at their rear ends and resting on the floor of the brood-chamber at or near the lower corners of the hive.

8. A beehive comprising side and front walls and a floor, guide-stri s secured to said floor near its rear end, a ee-entrance bar having notches in its lower edge near each end, and an elongated open-front box inserted in said notches and adapted to be guided and retained in position at its rear end by the aforesaid guide-strips secured to the floor of the hive.

JAMES F. STILLS.

Witnesses STELLA STILLS, R. A. BARBEE. 

